Dubai: Saudi Aramco will pass on another $19.5 billion as second quarter dividend for 2023, which will be paid in the coming quarter. This comes as the Saudi energy giant brought out $62 billion as net income for the first six months, while Q2-23 numbers came to $30.1 billion.
And from the third quarter, Aramco will start issuing its first 'performance-linked' dividends.
The results come against the backdrop of a firming up in oil prices, with the Kingdom extending its cuts all the way through to September.
Aramco's Q1-23 base dividend of $19.5 billion was paid in the second quarter, and represented a 4 per cent year-on-year increase.
"Our mid to long-term view remains unchanged," said Amin H. Nasser, Aramco President and CEO. "With a recovery anticipated in the broader global economy, along with increased activity in the aviation sector, ongoing investments in energy projects will be necessary to safeguard energy security.
“We are maintaining the largest capital spending program in our history, with the aim of increasing our oil and gas production capacity and expanding our downstream business — with petrochemicals projects, such as our $11 billion expansion of the SATORP refinery with TotalEnergies, essential to meet future demand."
We remain optimistic about the potential for new technologies to reduce our operational emissions, and our recent blue ammonia shipments to Asia highlight the growing market interest in the potential of alternative, lower-carbon energy solutions
Cash in hand
Cash flow from its operating activities came to $33.6 billion in Q2-23 (and $73.3 billion in H1). The free cash flow piled up $23.2 billion in the April to June phase ($54.1 billion for H1 overall).
“Our strong results reflect our resilience and ability to adapt through market cycles," said Nasser. "We continue to demonstrate our long-standing ability to meet the needs of customers around the world with high levels of reliability.
"For our shareholders, we intend to start distributing our first performance-linked dividend in the third quarter."
